BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Weymouth edges Braintree

Junior Matt Mullen (31 assists) and senior Kenen Cerkez (12 kills) led the Wildcats to a 3-0 home win Wednesday over the Wamps.

Jay N. Miller

Two young boys volleyball teams trying to learn how to win met Wednesday at Weymouth High, and you could forget the records because all three games were nip and tuck.

The host Wildcats (4-14) showed just a tad more ability to finish, edging Braintree (1-17) by finding their mojo when they needed it most.

Weymouth’s 25-19, 25-22, 27-25 victory capped an entertaining regular-season rivalry. The teams had split their first two meetings this spring.

“Putting this match in context, as our season has progressed we have played a lot of close games,” said first-year Braintree coach Kevin Whitaker. “We are very young, with no seniors and mostly sophomores, and only 12 people total in our program. A lot of our kids will turn around now and play the JV game, too, and all that action is great for their future development.

“But a lot of the time our matches are like a JV team versus someone else’s varsity. That experience may pay off next year, but it’s been tough sledding.”

In Game 3, Braintree held leads of 22-17 (on a Greg Zacharakis ace) and 24-21 but could not extend the match. Weymouth tied it twice on clutch plays from Kyle Lebertz (24-all) and John Capulli (25-all).

A thunderous slam from net monster Kenen Cerkez put the Wildcats ahead, 26-25, and then a long volley ended when a shot landed inches – if not millimeters – inside the end line on the Wamps’ end.

“I think our lack of experience certainly showed today in that inability to finish the games,” Whitaker said. “Weymouth has got some good athletes, good jumpers, and pure athletes from other sports, but even some of their older kids are not that experienced. Weymouth played well today, and we struggled with their speed.

“Playing them three close games like we did shows some definite growth and maturity, and I am optimistic about our future. But we are feeling the pains of a building kind of season.”

For the Wildcats, winning has been a precious commodity this season, too, but their numbers are up, and while they will graduate eight seniors, Weymouth’s foundation for the future looks good.

“This was a pretty good matchup, two very comparable teams, especially since we lost our first game of the year to them,” noted Weymouth coach Daniel Donoghue. “We also have a lot of young kids, and the season has definitely been a learning experience.

“We’ve got 29 kids in our program this year, including eight seniors, five of whom are regulars. But we’ve also got 10 freshmen, and some of our seniors are first-year players. It seems like the reverse of last year’s scenario: we ended the season with about 14 kids, and now Braintree’s down to 12.”

Junior Matt Mullen had 31 assists for Weymouth. Cerkez, a first-year senior, had 12 kills and four blocks, and Capulli (8 kills, 5 blocks), Lebertz and Steven Karlberg were also key players for the Wildcats.

“We’ve got eight seniors we’ll be losing, while Braintree graduates no one,” Donoghue said, “so next year will be interesting, and Coach Whitaker has them playing hard.

“But we have three good building blocks in Matt Mullen, John Capulli and Steven Karlberg, and that’s big. Mullen has improved by leaps and bounds this year, in his first varsity season, and he plays year-round, which you always love to see. I’m definitely thinking he is the kind of kid we can build around next year.”